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Want to connect all your wired and wireless devices and expand your network with ease? Setting up an Ethernet switch and mesh network may be the best way. Because today it becomes increasingly difficult to use only a router to make your all connections since the approach of IoT. However, Ethernet switch and mesh network will function adequately no matter how many connections you want to make. Here focus on the Ethernet switch and mesh networking.

Why Mesh Networking?

Unlike the stand-alone routers, which will arise signal loss or strength drops when you go away from them, while mesh Wifi networks can use another connection to create a continuous wireless link which minimises the possibility of dead zones. For example, you put your router in the downstairs living room. When you are on the first floor, your phone can connect to the Internet with a strong signal. But when you want to search the Internet in the upstairs office, the signal would degrade. Of course, you can boost a Wifi router’s connection with a signal amplifier. But in that situation, you have to manually connect your phone to the amplifier’s Wifi network. And if you go back to the downstairs, you have to switch back to the main router’s wireless network again. What a pain! Luckily, working with mesh Wifi networks, things are different. In a wireless network, all the nodes are connected with each other which means any node could be an Access Point (AP). Therefore, through the APs, wireless mesh network allows your phone automatically connects to the strongest signal no matter you are in the upstairs or downstairs. That’s better than what we could do with the traditional router Wifi networks.

Figure 1: Mesh network exists in our life.

When to Set Up Ethernet Switch and Mesh Network

If you want to build a wireless mesh network, using an Ethernet switch is a good choice. Before installation, you should consider how much coverage you need in your home. For many people, the money might be better spent on a Wifi router with good quality, since the mesh network equipment like the switches cost too much. But if you want to cover a large area with signal and your home brick is too solid for signal travel through, then use a switch to build wireless mesh network is a way to go.

Use FS Ethernet Switch to Build Mesh Network

Achieving a cheap mesh network is based on switches. FS.COM publishes a set of Gigabit Ethernet switch supporting 1G, 10G, 40G and 100G Ethernet, in order to meet different demands. All the Ethernet switches meet all design and safety standards made by international and industrial organizations like ISO9001, FCC etc.

The following is a 10Gb switch named S5800-48F4S. It has 48 1GbE SFP ports and 4 10GbE SFP+ ports. This switch is a Layer2/3 switch with low latency of 2.3us. With the switching capacity, it provides a throughput of 130.95MB. Besides, it supports functions like MLAG, SNMP and so, making it becomes popular on market. Following the S5800-48F4S switch installation guide, you can easily finish the switch installation. Then you can configure the bridge parametres of AP according to the installation instructions to build a mesh network.

Figure 2: S5800-48F4S 48 Port Ethernet Switch

Conclusion

Due to mesh network advantages and disadvantages, we understand why and when to use wireless mesh network. Based on Ethernet switch, mesh networking can spread out fast Wifi across a relatively large area, which makes our life and work more efficiently. So don’t hesitate, pick one Ethernet switch from FS.COM to optimise your Wifi network.

With the development of Internet technology, traditional network unicast mode can’t meet today’s data transmission requirement. On the contrary, this mode increases network load and consuming network bandwidth greatly. IGMP snooping is developed to solve the problem. So what is IGMP snooping?

Introduction of IGMP Snooping

IGMP (Internet Group Management Protocol) is a communications protocol. So what is IGMP used for? Commonly, it’s used to establish membership in a multicast group. And each member host of an IP multicast is a transmitter or receiver.

As for IGMP snooping, which sounds like an obscure hacker technique that may break into one’s network, is actually an advanced option available on most switches or routers. Wiki defines it as the process of listening to IGMP network traffic. It is a multicast constraint mechanism running on the two-layer device, which is used to manage and control the multicast group. If there are plenty of multicast traffic in your network, the whole performance may be affected due to the excessive false flooding. At this moment, the IGMP snooping switch can help to optimize your network. It enables the Gigabit Ethernet switch configured with IGMP snooping decides which devices will receive the applicable multicast traffic, thus the others won’t receive the message. This means the broadcast packet on layer 2 has been reduced so that the network bandwidth will be conserved. Besides, IGMP snooping helps improve message information.

IGMP Snooping Process

After knowing what is IGMP snooping, let’s see how it works. Once a device joined the multicast group, the router or fiber switch will notice this. Then the message cab forwarded to the devices that have joined the multicast group. Look at Figure 1, when the switch runs without IGMP snooping, the multicast packet will be transmitted to host A, B, and C. But when the switch has set up IGMP snooping, only multicast group members host A and C can receive the multicast packet. This is the main IGMP snooping tutorial.

Figure 1: The picture shows how IGMP works.

Using FS.COM Switch to Build IGMP Snooping

To keep pace with technology development, FS.COM releases a set of switches to help customers establish IGMP snooping. Here is a 24 port switch named S3900-24T4S. The fanless 24-port 10/100/1000BASE-T Gigabit stackable managed switch provides an affordable solution for business of all sizes requiring switches with essential L2 switching features like VLAN and IGMP snooping, along with a simple and intuitive management interface. It includes 24 10/100/1000Base-T ports and 4 10G SFP+ ports to extend your home or business network at gigabit speeds. Equipped with BCM53346 switch chip, the Layer 2 Plus (Layer 3 Lite) switch has a switching capacity of 128Gbps, which is compliant with the international standard.

Figure 2: S3900-24T4S 24 Port Switch

Conclusion

Now I think you know the answer to the question we posed at first, what is IGMP snooping. When IGMP snooping is enabled, the bandwidth consumption will be reduced in a multi-access LAN environment so as to avoid flooding the entire VLAN. Any question about IGMP snooping configuration, please contact us via support@feisu.com.

When it comes to connecting a lot of VoIP phones and IP cameras, a 48 port PoE switch is great for powering them. Whether it is for home use or business use, a 48 port PoE switch can best solve the problems of installing these PoE network devices in places that have no power lines. If you need to know the application of 48 port PoE switch in access and core area, you could read Deploying 48-Port Gigabit PoE Managed Switch in Different Networks. Due to the high capacity and power supply feature, a 48 port PoE switch price is often higher than a standard 48-port Ethernet switch with no PoE. In this post, we will introduce some cheap 48 port PoE switches and do a comparison between them.

Comparison of Four 48 Port PoE Switch Price and Function

The four 48 port PoE switches that we’re going to discuss are UniFi US-48-500W, TP-Link T1600G-52PS, D-Link DGS-1210-52MP/ME and FS S1600-48T4S. They are inexpensive compared with most enterprise class 48 port PoE switches. Let’s have a look at these switches.

Difference Between the Four 48 Port PoE Switches

The table below gives some basic parameters of these four switches, including the port type, supported data rate, the maximum PoE power consumption, switching capacity and forwarding rate.

Switch Model

UniFi US-48-500W

TP-Link T1600G-52PS

D-Link DGS-1210-52MP/ME

FS S1600-48T4S

10/100/1000Mbps RJ45 Ports

48

48

48

48

Gigabit SFP Ports

2

4

4

0

SFP+ Ports

2

0

0

4

Max. PoE Power Consumption

500 W

470.4 W

479.5 W

600 W

Max. Power Per Port (PoE+)

30 W

30 W

30 W (ports 1-8)

30 W

Switching Capacity

140 Gbps

104 Gbps

104 Gbps

180 Gbps

Forwarding Rate

104.16 Mpps

77.4 Mpps

77.4 Mpps

130.94 Mpps

Price

US$760.00 to US$1,230.90

US$481.99 to US$725.99

US$988.06 to US$1,028.01

US$689.00

The UniFi US-48-500W is a 48-port Layer 2 access switch. In addition to 48 Gigabit RJ45 ports, it has 2 fibre ports of Gigabit SFP and 2 fibre ports of 10G SFP+. It has a non-blocking throughout of 70 Gbps, which is sufficient for typical home use and most small business use. But compared with the other three 48-port PoE switches, it lacks some Layer 3 features. The other three are Layer 2+ switches that support static routing and access resolution protocol (ARP) inspecting, which are simple but efficient approaches in segmenting and securing the network.

Outwardly, the TP-Link T1600G-52PS and D-Link DGS-1210-52MP/ME are similar in many aspects. They both have 4 Gigabit SFP ports and their switch fabric capacity and forwarding rate are identical. However, the 48 RJ45 ports of T1600G-52PS are all IEEE 802.3at/af-compliant PoE+ ports, while the 48 RJ45 ports of DGS-1210-52MP/ME are not. Only ports 1-8 are PoE+ and the ports 9-48 are PoE. The price of T1600G-52PS is much lower than DGS-1210-52PS but the former one is released in 2015 while the latter one is 2017’s new model. Both T1600G-52PS and DGS-121052MP/ME has no 10G ability.

Obviously, the switching capacity (or backplane bandwidth) and forwarding rate of the FS S1600-48T4S are the highest among these four switches. It has four 10G uplink ports, which allows large traffic from the access switch to the core switch and ensures high speed and precise transmission and recording without delay. Meanwhile, it supports the largest power to the device, which is suitable for connecting more PoE network devices. This 48 port PoE switch price is lower than two of the other switches.

Common Benefits and Features of the Four 48-Port PoE Switches

These four 48 port PoE switch price are much lower than that of high-end PoE switches. They are all managed PoE switches equipped with 48 10/100/1000Mbps Rj45 ports of auto-sensing IEEE 802.3af (PoE), which provides a maximum per PoE port output power to each device of 15.4 W. They also support IEEE 802.3at (PoE+), which enhanced the max. per port power consumption to 30 W. All of them have been equipped with fibre uplink ports.

Another common feature is that these four 48 port PoE switches all support easy management. And the managing function is not limited to only one type. They all have an RJ45 console port or a serial port for managing through web-based graphical user interface (GUI, IPv4/IPv6) or command line interface (CLI).

Summary

This post has compared the 48 port PoE switch price and function. They are generally inexpensive and suitable for both home use and business use. The managing functions are simplified compared with high-end switches, in order to help better management of the network. If you want 10G uplink, UniFi US-48-500W or FS S1600-48T4S are recommended. Before purchasing a 48 port PoE switch, be sure to check the power requirement for your total PoE devices, the standard it complies to and the overall PoE budget of your installation.

Our home networks rely on either wired (Ethernet) or wireless technology. Sometimes, we use both of them, especially when multiple Internet capable devices are set up in homes. Wireless networks enable multiple devices to use the same internet connection remotely, as well as share files and other resources. But it’s still hard to say wireless is better than wired when we talk about wireless network vs wired network, since each one has advantages and drawbacks. This article is meant to make a comparison of wireless network vs wired network from three primary factors: mobility, reliability, and security.

Wireless Network vs. Wired Network

Mobility

A wired LAN (Local Area Network) uses Ethernet cables to connect computers together directly or more commonly, through a hub, switch, or router. Wired connections typically cost much less and reduce battery drain on laptops and other mobile devices because Wi-Fi adapters use more power.

As for wireless network, users can move around freely within the area of the network with their laptops, handheld devices etc and get an internet connection. The popularity of Wi-Fi has also increased due to increased smartphone and tablet sales. Many of these devices are not capable of wired Ethernet connections and rely on wireless signals for Internet connectivity.

Reliability

Ethernet-based(wired) networks tend to be much more reliable than wireless networks. The backbone of any network relies on an Ethernet connection. The most common problem with wired network is loose cable connections. Because you have to lay lots of cables and put them through walls etc. A bundle of tangled wires can result in damage and performance degradation. Using Zip-Ties is an excellent cable management way to keep the Ethernet cable out of the way and tangle-free.

For the most part, wireless technology is reliable. There are some concerns about interference from home appliances such as microwaves and cordless phones, but most wireless routers provide multiple channels that can mitigate this concern relatively easily.

Security

The security of a home-based Ethernet network is almost primarily dependent upon a firewall. Most broadband routers include a firewall already and software firewalls can also be installed on individual machines. Unlike wireless networks that broadcast data through the air, all data packets in a wired network safely travel through Ethernet cables. As long as the router is protected from intrusion using a firewall, your wired home network is safe.

The mobility of wireless networks is overshadowed in some respects by the lower security inherent to wireless. An unsecured wireless network can easily be compromised by a hacker or identity thief looking to intercept private information traveling through your wireless network. Although these risks are very real, many of them can be avoided with proper network installation. For example, using a secure password for logging into the wireless network. Although this does not make a wireless router completely safe, it certainly reduces the likelihood of unwanted guests gaining access to your information.

Wireless Network vs Wired Network: Advantages and Disadvantages

Activity/Category

Wireless Network

Wired Network

Freedom of movement for users

Users can access network from anywhere within range

Users location limited by need to use cable and/or connect to a port

Sharing Files

Easier with wireless network as you do not need to be cabled to network, though transfer speeds may be slower

Generally less convenient as you have to be cabled in, but transfer speeds often faster

Cables

Far less complicated, disruptive, and untidy cabling needed

Lots of cables and ports needed which can be a headache

Business

For businesses dealing with public, customers like and often expect wireless, so wireless can increase income

Wired networks are not convenient for public use, but sometimes acceptable for a traditional office

Connection speeds

Usually slower than wired

Usually faster than wireless

Security

Less secure than wired. Both bandwidth and information can sometimes be accessed

More secure than wireless

Set up

Upgrading to a wireless network can be difficult and expensive

Can also be difficult and expensive to set up

Conclusion

Here, we do not mean to abandon one over the other when wireless network vs wired network. A good home network will often have both wireless and wired components. Ethernet connections are great for high-speed transfers on desktops or other devices that do not move. Your smartphone, tablet, or laptop will benefit from a wireless network that has been properly configured to ensure a secure browsing experience. Whether you choose a wired or wireless network, or a combination of the two, take time to configure it properly and add a firewall to protect your privacy and the integrity of your network while enjoying the benefits afforded by both technologies. If you need any Ethernet cables for wired network, or cost-effective Ethernet switche for wireless network, just give FS.COM a shot. For more information, please visit www.fs.com.